Overview of my 3 day Goa trip

Day 1, 15th March, 2015: After spending about 19 hours on not-so-comfortable yet not-so-cramped upper side berth of Trivandrum – H. Nizamuddin Express (22655) train’s AC 3-tier compartment, I finally arrived at Madgaon railway station (MAO), Goa at around 5:30 PM. I took a bike taxi from the railway station to a nearby rent-a-bike shop. Renting a bike to explore Goa will be economical compared to hiring cabs/autos and time-saving compared to public transport. I opted for a gear-less 125cc Suzuki Access. Her name was Floriana.

It was getting dark and there was not much scope for sightseeing today.

A Goan sunset

Floriana – 125cc Suzuki Access

Miles to go…

Tiara Hideaway, the hotel I had booked is around 45km away from railway station. Just like the name, Tiara Hideway was hidden very much deep inside Saligao neighborhood. It was very difficult to find the hotel but I don’t complain as the area was filled with cute buildings having strong influence of Goan and Portuguese architecture. I decided to have dinner from some restaurants nearby rather than from hotel itself. Roamed around a little and came to know that a few attractions were located nearby.

By early afternoon I went back to hotel to escape from heat and to take some rest. In the evening I went to Santa Monica to take a river cruise. The boat was crowded with desi tourists. There were some dancing and DJing going on, but I was very much bored. I expected to take some good sunset shots but the possibilities were limited.

Day 2 has come to an end. I will be visiting the forts tomorrow.

Day 3, 17th March, 2015: Woke up early to explore the Saligao neighborhood. I found some “home sweet homes” and some buildings which were abandoned. I was a bit puzzled with this kind of mix. After roaming around for 30 minutes, I went back to my room, watched some TV, and wasted time till 10 am as I need to book Tatkal railway tickets for the next day for my return journey (for those who are not familiar with tatkal train tickets, these are a small quota of seats whose tickets can be booked only on the previous day before the journey. Booking open at 10 AM).

After booking tickets, I visited Sinquerim fort, Chapora Fort, and Reis Magos Fort and had Shanghai fried rice for dinner.

Fire power at Reis Magos Fort, Goa

I had to cut short the length of the trip even though 18th and 19th was a weekend as one of my best friend was getting married on 19th 😀

Yes Bama, there are plenty of Rent-a-bike shops in Goa. For gearless 125ccSuzuki access its costs Rs. 350/day along a refundable deposit of Rs.500 which will be returned once you return the bike. You will have to show them your driving license (for foreign tourists make sure your license is valid in India). You will also have to deposit any of you ID (like passport) during this duration. Bikes are in good condition and are well maintained, but do take test run to make sure its smooth. They will give you bike’s original documents (like Registration Card, Insurance, Pollution certificate) and a helmet. And yes, Goa Police do check for the bike’s documents and your driving license. Riding without wearing helmet could lead to a fine.

Hi mate! Your blog looks pretty good. It’s also going to be very useful to me, since I’m in Kathmandu, but in a few days I’m gonna move to Dharamsala, and then I’d like to travel on the road all the way down the west indian coast! Where do you stay at? I moved to south east Asia with a one way ticket so I’m basically free to go wherever I want!

Thanks! My trips were a long time back so probably a lot has changed. Kerala is somewhere you don’t want to miss. I liked Kanyakumari too. Goa was nice when I was there because there were only two or three other travellers there at that time. Now, I don’t imagine it’s so peaceful. Depends what you’re looking for I guess. Enjoy your trip.

If you are planning to explore India, then I would suggest you to buy a copy of Lonely Planet’s India guide. It basically contains all the travel related info. As for the places, I would suggest Ladakh, Manali, Punjab, Jaisalmer and Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka down south. There are flights to south east Asia (Malaysia and Singapore) from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. 🙂

Thanks Sree, very kind! I never travel without the LP 😉 I’ll check these spots carefully during my stay at Dharamsala, I’d like to plan a trip just by trains and buses. You’ll see my moves on my blog for sure, perhaps a day we are gonna bump into each other! Take care!

Your photography of the architecture is beautiful! I can’t believe how many places you went in one day, I would have been dead on my feet. Hope you had a good time at the wedding! Also I’m nominating you for a Liebster Award 😀

Hi Sreejith, I am a senior citizen and I was in Chennai on August 29th. I paid a visit to St Thomas Mount shrine and the other Catholic shrine at Little Mount (Chinnamalai). I could walk to the St Thomas Mount shrine as I was staying in the area (Sri Ganesha Palace/Green Leaf Hotel – a comfortable hotel on the Joint Commissioner of Police (South) Road). Walking up the mount steps to the shrine was as good as climbing Mt Everest for me!. From there It cost me Rs100 to take a rick to the Little Mount Shrine. If you haven;t visited these two well maintained shrines in Chennai please try and do so when you are in that city.

Hey, 3-days tour of Goa was great. Did you make it a point to not cover the beaches or was this trip specifically for Churches and such other monuments ? BTW, I didn’t know of so many churches in Goa 🙂

House of museums is a lovely place in Goa , if you haven’t been there already . This November we travelled to Goa and stayed at Palolem beach ( my first time away from my home in Goa in 33 years ). Being a Goan , I can tell you , It’s the beach to be , away from the crowds and stunning .